Clutch pencil



Oct. 19, 1943.

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-50 -29 i 23d 1 zz) 28 1' 27d; 16$ 2 24/ y g2? H L :I 25 v1" INVENTOR 19 BIYVZJZZJQIVZ [l Pozzaf/z Patented Oct. 19, 1943 William 0, PoriathRichmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to Eagle Pencil Company, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of Delaware Application April 7, 1942, Serial No. 437,936

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to pencils, more particularly of the so-called clutch type. It;constitutes an improvement upon the construction shown and claimed in my prior Patent No. 2,262,649 of November 11, 1941.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a pencil f the above type which shall be quite as effective and convenient in operation as that of th said prior patent, but of simpler, more durable and less costly construction and of greater ease of assembly, and in which inhere all of the advantages of the pencil of the prior patent, including ruggedness, small number of parts, freedom from derangement or jamming in use, ease and effectiveness of lead clutching and releasing, security of clutch retention regardless of wear or of variations in diameter of lead, avoidance of any danger of weakening or breaking the lead at the clutch area, and clutching of the lead under all conditions of use clear to the lower extremity of the structure with exposure to view of the entire length of the unclutched writing point and avoidance of disassembly of the clutch structure in the act of releasing the lead.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view partly in longitudinal cross-section, of the clutch pencil, and I Figs. 2, 3, 4 and are transverse cross-sectional views on a larger scale taken respectively on the lines 2-2; 3-3; 4-4'and 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the clutch pencil comprises a shell casing or shaft m desirably of hexagonal metal tube stock. In the upper end of said shaft there is frictionally held the skirt end of a tip l2 which desirably has a removable cap |3 through the window M of which the selected grade mark on a hexagonal index sleev l5 may be exposed. The details of the tip construction need not be further described, since they are the subject matter of my copending application Serial No. 396,840, filed June 6, 1941.

The clutch of the present invention desirably comprises a tubular clutch piece C desirably of relatively hard and springy metal such as brass. It includes a threaded hub l5 from the forward end of which extend the pair of lead clutching jaws H which desirably are made by bifurcating the forward part of the clutch tube as at I8. The said jaws are approximately semi-circular in end view as best shown in Fig. 5, have clutching enlargements I!) at the outer surface thereof and are biased to spring apart slightly, substantially as in th prior patent above identified.

Unitary and coaxial with the hub and extending rearward therefrom is a tubular extension or haft 20 which constitutes a continuation of the lead accommodating clutch piece comprising the clutch jaws and the hub.

The tubular haft is press-fitted as a unitary irremovable core within a sleeve 2| of softer and lighter material, desirably of aluminum. The forward end of the sleeve 2| abuts against a shoulder 22 at the base of hub Hi and the bore of the sleeve is desirably internally beveled at 23 at its rear end. The sleeve 2| with the clutch structure carried thereby is snugly and frictionally fitted into the forward end of the shaft Ill.

The screw tip 23 of the pencil is tapped at 24 at its cylindrical bore for coaction with the screw thread on the hub l6 of the clutch. The reduced conical tip end 25 of the screw tip engages with and cams the forward ends of the enlarged clutch members inward to grip the lead 26 when the tip piece is screwed forward as far as it will go.

The rear end 21 of the screw tip is at all times encircled by the forward end of the shaft ID, for which purpose the forward end of the aluminum sleeve is of reduced diameter as at 28 to define an annular space thereabout within the forward end of the metal shaft.

Release of the clutch is effected in the same manner as in the prior patent by screwing the screw tip 23 backward, its rear end being accommodated in the cylindrical space about the reduced end 28 of the sleeve 2|, the clutch jaws springing apart and the lead being permitted to drop out.

When the full length of lead is inserted, the major portilon of the length thereof intervening between the upper end of the clutch piece C and the skirt II at the rear has no lateral support. Accordingl a filler 29 of soft wood is provided within the shaft to extend between the clutch piece and the rear end, said filler having a bore 30 therein to accommodate the main length of the lead 26.

The pencil is easily assembled. The wooden filler 29 is introduced into the shaft ID, the tip I2 is applied at its rear end, and the clutch piece C is forced in at the forward end 3|. The lead 26 is introduced through the clutch C when open, the screw tip 23 being in rearward position and the lead is clamped by the clutch, upon I screwing the screw tip forward as far as it will 'The pencil structure being made entirely of metal except for the completely shielded and protected wooden filler 30 Within the length of the shaft, the construction is durable and not subject to derangement in hard use. Yet the structure is light, well balanced and, therefore, easy to handle and non-fatiguing in use.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in th accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pencil of the clutch type, comprising .a metal tubular shaft, a tubular clutch piece of harder, heavier and more springy metal affixed in the forward end thereof and including a tubular haft, a sleeve member of softer and lighter metal, frictionally and immovably held upon said haft and immovably embraced by said tubular shaft and being reduced in outer diameter at its forward end to afford an annular space with respect to the inner wall of the forward end of the shaft, said clutch havin a pair of jaws biased apart in lead released position, said clutch piece having a threaded hub integral therewith at the base end of said clutch jaws and beyond said shaft and .a screw tip threaded upon said threaded hub and releasably clamping the clutch laws in closed position, the rim of said screw tip being embraced by the rim of said shaft in all positions thereof and being accommodated in the annular space between the reduced portion of the bushing and the metal shaft, said tip having camm'ing coaction with said jaws.

2. Th pencil as recited in claim 1 in which the sleeve member embraces the length of the tubular haft beyond the threaded hub and in which there is a wooden filler within the shaft beyond the sleeve member which presents a bore for accommodating the outer length of lead.

' WJLLIAM O. PONATH. 

